A/N: This little story was spawned because of a picture called 'This end up or else' on LiaJax's DeviantArt page. Blame her for this. The experiment described is based on the Schrodinger's cat paradox for the phenomenon of wave-particle duality.

Quantum Mechanics For Autobots

Prowl crossed his arms over his chest plate and gave the engineer his best 'I'm not amused' glare. "Wheeljack, I saw you put the device on the table and place the box over it."

"But you don't know if it's working or not." Wheeljack's vocal processors flashed a gleeful blue.

"... The majority of your creations do not work."

"It was working when I put it under the box. Now, until we turn the box over and observe the device, the two possible states of 'functioning' or 'not functioning' coexist, even though the states are mutually exclusive from each other."

A rare martyred sigh escaped Prowl's lips. "Not only is that illogical, but it's impossible. The device cannot be both 'functional' and 'not functional' at the same time."

"Yes it can, Prowl," Wheeljack patted the top of the box. "In quantum-mechanical terms its in a condition of 'superposition'. Now that will change if we lift the box and observe the state of the device, because one state will become established to the exclusion of the other. In other words, without being observed, the device does not work in any particular state. It is neither working nor not working, or it is both working and not working - depending on how you want to look at it."

The tactician lifted the box off the table and peered at the small device with its array of lights. "Obviously, your theory is wrong, because the device is working."

Wheeljack took the box from Prowl, laughing. "But we didn't know that until you moved the box."

Prowl gave him a level glare, "It was working when you put it under the box, and it was still working when the box was removed. Therefore, it continued to work while covered by the box."

"Not necessarily. We don't know what was happening to the device inside the box." Wheeljack placed the box over the device again. "There is a fifty-fifty chance that the device is working. But until we can see it, we have no way to determine its actual state."

"It was working while under the box."

"How do you know that for sure?" The engineer leaned on the box. "You can't see into the box."

"What's under the box that makes the device stop working then?"

Wheeljack shrugged, "I don't know."

Prowl was starting to lose his patience with Wheeljack's illogical 'experiment'. "Then it must be working under the box!"

"But we don't know that for sure." He peeked under the box, "And it's unknown whether the device is considered to be an 'observer' as to what happens inside the box…"

Without another word, Prowl did an abrupt about-face and marched out of the lab leaving Wheeljack standing there at the worktable. Once the door shut, he pulled a data pad and stylus out of subspace and began taking notes: Subject A responded negatively to thought experiment 21 Insisted the paradox was illogical...